Comcast Hometown Network to Televise 40 Live Minor League Baseball Games From the California League

LIVERMORE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Hometown Network (CHN) http://comcasthometown.com/, Comcast's regional cable network covering Northern and Central California, today announced that it will televise 40 LIVE minor league baseball games from the California League as part of its Comcast Hometown Sports (CHS) programming.  The games will be available on Channel 104 to all Comcast digital cable customers throughout Northern and Central California.  The telecasts will begin on Monday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m. when the defending California League Champion San Jose Giants host the Visalia Rawhide (see complete schedule below).  All of the Comcast Hometown Network games will originate LIVE from either Banner Island Ballpark (home of the Stockton Ports www.stocktonports.com) or San Jose Municipal Stadium (home of the San Jose Giants http://sjgiants.com/).  

"Comcast Hometown Network is thrilled to double our coverage of California League baseball this year to 40 games," said Jeff Giles, Director of Comcast Hometown Network. "The exciting brand of baseball played by the California League teams is a key ingredient for Comcast Hometown Network as we provide compelling, community-based regional programming to Northern and Central California."

Play-by-play duties for the games originating from Stockton's Banner Island Ballpark will be handled by Stockton Ports radio announcer Zack Bayrouty.  For games originating from San Jose Municipal Stadium, San Jose Giants radio announcer Joe Ritzo will handle play-by-play.  Dan Dibley of sports radio station KNBR 680-AM will provide analysis.  

The LIVE games will be replayed several times on Comcast Hometown Network (Channel 104), and will also be available any time of the day or night via Comcast's popular ON DEMAND platform http://www.fancast.com/ondemand, which is free to Comcast digital customers.  To view California League baseball games ON DEMAND, Comcast Digital Cable customers can tune to Channel 1 on their Digital Cable lineup or press the ON DEMAND button on their remote control, then click on the "Get Local" section, then click on "Local Sports."

The California League is a Class A Advanced minor baseball league which operates throughout the state of California.  Comprised of 10 teams that are affiliated with Major League Baseball teams such as the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the California League is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division.  The Southern Division features five teams from the sprawling metropolitan areas of Southern California, and the Northern Division features four teams in California's growing Central Valley as well the San Jose Giants in the Bay Area.

Following is Comcast Hometown Network's tentative 2010 California League baseball telecast schedule:

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

About Comcast Hometown Network

Comcast Hometown Network (CHN) is a regional cable network produced by Comcast and available in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California on Digital Channel 104.  Available to more than 1.8 million homes in Northern and Central California as a part of Comcast's commitment to the communities that it serves, Comcast Hometown Network is a 24/7 channel that includes original regional programming, Comcast Hometown Sports (CHS), and unique local content that you can't get anywhere else.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services.  With 23.6 million cable customers, 15.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 7.6 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten sports networks operated by Comcast Sports Group and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net).  Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast's California Region, based in Livermore, California, serves more than 2.3 million customers in Northern and Central California.  Comcast employs more than 7,000 local residents across the region.

SOURCE Comcast Hometown Network